The key thing to remember about parade routes and times is this - parades usually traverse about 5 miles in distance, and usually take 4-6 hours to march, depending on if its a regular parade or one of the superkrewes like Bacchus and Endymion. For example, a parade that begins at 6pm uptown by Napoleon and St. Charles will be marching down Canal St. around 10pm or thereabouts.

Also scrutinize the parade schedule to see if there are multiple parades following each other, or if there is an afternoon parade, then a night parade on the same route.

A detailed map of the city will also help you navigate around town and around the parades.

Check the websites or call the restaurant to make sure they are open on the day you want to go. The only day most restaurants close will be on Mardi Gras Day.

She has a weekly column that readers send in queries for lost recipes - and her readers almost always produce the missing recipe. Try that and see if someone can come up with your buttercream brownie recipe.

1) Casual Po'Boy and a beer are typically not synonymous with waiter service. Most places you order at the counter, and when your po-boy is ready you pick it up and if the place has tables then eat it there. Walking distance, Johnny's comes to mind - they may serve po-boy's at Stanley and Mena's Palace and there is table service at both places, but not sure of the quality compared to typical po-boy shops.

2) I would change the reservation to Emeril's - its more expensive than NOLA but worth it

3) This is still not peak season for oysters - they may be on the small side - oysters are best after the weather cools off significantly, usually mid-November. Don't expect perfect oysters this time of year. You could try Drago's in the Hilton for grilled oysters too.

This local prefers not to participate in the typical lunchtime melee' - I've gone mid-afternoon a lot to Galatoire's with friends, usually around 3pm-ish, and yes a few times on Fridays too.

Its interesting to see the waning lunch crowd, some all sloppy drunk with the wait staff ever patient tending to their needs, and then watch the transition to dinner as the evening patrons filter in around 5:30-ish.

Went to Drago's Metairie on August 13 with a friend. The oysters were indeed small, but flavorful. Consider this - it is NOT oyster season right now and are usually small during the summer - the oysters will fill out and get bigger and plumper come November when the weather cools off.

Plus I've never had chargrilled oysters at Drago's with breadcrumbs - they use heaping amounts of parmesian cheese though.

Only thing good is the patio is nice to sit outside - but not right now, its too hot - the inside is cramped and feels like you're sitting in a garage - food was not good, but maybe that will improve as time passes and the kitchen staff get more proficient

The former Union Supermarket that was on S. Carrollton underneath Rock & Bowl moved out to Kenner - they have a good selection of items and they have daily lunch specials. Union Supermarket, 2105 W. Esplanade Ave. #A, Kenner, 504.469.1861.

We went to Paul's Cafe - we mostly talked and the food was an afterthought. My friend had a hamburger and I had the club sandwich on wheat, which had roast beef on it too! Coffee was decent. I watched as plates came out filled with daily specials, po-boys and one of the waitresses was walking around with a tray of desserts. And the bill was less than $20 for everything.

If you need a quick lunch spot that won't blow out your wallet, Paul's Cafe is the place.

All the recent talk of muffalettas, and I just went to Nor-Joe's to get one. The muffaletta was warmed, the cheese melted, and the bread thick and fresh, made nice and spongy from the olive salad. It was delicious.

So I looked up muffaletta and yes the bread from Sicily is called a muffaletta - a round sesame bread. However in the Wikipedia article there was a reference to a story about the origins of the New Orleans muffaletta, as follows:

"One of the most interesting aspects of my father's grocery is his unique creation, the muffuletta sandwich. The muffuletta was created in the early 1900's when the Farmers' Market was in the same area as the grocery. Most of the farmers who sold their produce there were Sicilian. Every day they used to come of my father's grocery for lunch. They would order some salami, some ham, a piece of cheese, a little olive salad, and either long braided Italian bread or round muffuletta bread. In typical Sicilian fashion they ate everything separately. The farmers used to sit on crates or barrels and try to eat while precariously balancing their small trays covered with food on their knees. My father suggested that it would be easier for the farmers if he cut the bread and put everything on it like a sandwich; even if it was not typical Sicilian fashion. He experimented and found that the thicker, braided Italian bread was too hard to bite but the softer round muffuletta was ideal for his sandwich. In very little time, the farmers came to merely ask for a "muffuletta" for their lunch."

So yes, in your context, the bread is the muffaletta. However we must agree to disagree in the context of the New Orleans muffaletta which is defined by the combination of salami, ham, cheese, olive salad and Italian bread.